King Piccolo
(FUNimation Dub: King Piccolo) King Piccolo (ピッコロ大魔王 Pikkoro Daimaō, lit. Piccolo the Great Demon King) is a character from the anime and manga series Dragon Ball, and appears from time to time in a couple flashbacks of Dragon Ball Z. He is introduced as a Mazoku in the story who once precipitated the Earth into utter chaos and pandemonium,Dragonball manga, Volume 12, Chapter 135, Pages 42-43 — ISBN 1-59116-155-X giving birth to a brood of animal-like Namekians from within himself and converting a peaceful planet into a living hell.Dragon Ball manga, Volume 12, Chapter 135, Pages 42-43 — ISBN 1-59116-155-X Later, it is revealed that he is the evil half and evil twin brother of Kami; the two were once a single entity. King Piccolo's name is based on the instrument of the same name — hence, all of his sons share the names of various musical instruments. While he is named after a flute, the others are named after percussion instruments. Biography King Piccolo came into being some 300 years before the beginning of Dragon Ball. After Kami arrived on Earth and attempted to assume the position of guardian of Earth, he was neglected of the position due to the evil that occulted within. As a result, Kami concentrated and trained to relinquish the evil within; which conspired into producing two separate entities — if one should perish, the other would also. The concentrated evil being known as King Piccolo. At first, the name "Piccolo" was a reference to the wind instrument, but then a revelation by Mr. Popo to Bulma meant it translated to "different world" in Namekian.Dragon Ball Z manga, Volume 5, Chapter 50, Page 61 — ISBN 1-56931-934-0 Eventually, he was imprisoned by Master Mutaito, the sensei of Master Roshi and Master Shen, in an electric rice cooker (nicknamed the "Denshi Jar" by fandom) by the suicidal Mafūba technique. Centuries later, he is released from his confinement by Emperor Pilaf, and King Piccolo decides to have all the current and former finalists of the Tenkaichi Tournament murdered, thereby removing all those who might be able to learn the Mafuba. To aid him in this, he gives birth to his first two sons, Piano and Tambourine. Tambourine quickly goes about his task, his first victim being Krillin. King Piccolo then gives birth to a third son, Cymbal, who he assigns the task of gathering the Dragonballs. King Piccolo seeks the Dragon Balls so that he can wish to have eternal youth. When King Piccolo learns that both Cymbal and Tambourine have been killed (by Goku and Yajirobe respectively) King Piccolo fights Goku, leaving the young boy severely beaten and near death. Muten-Rôshi then challenges King Piccolo and attempts the suicidal Mafuba technique, but he misses, and dies as a result. King Piccolo is then able to gather the Dragon Balls to summon Shenron. Chiaotzu attempts to make a wish himself to prevent King Piccolo from doing so, but is killed before he can finish, allowing King Piccolo to wish for eternal youth, becoming more powerful than since he was returned to his physical prime. King Piccolo then kills the dragon to prevent anyone else from making a wish which could stop him. With no one left who can properly challenge him, King Piccolo overthrows King Furry and becomes the ruler of the Earth. He institutes several evil policies such as releasing all criminals and a planned system of destruction. He is then confronted by Tien, who has now learned the Mafuba Technique but cannot perform it as the electric rice-cooker which would have been used to seal Jr. Piccolo is broken. King Piccolo decides not to get his hands dirty, and instead gives birth to Drum, his most powerful son yet. The battle between Tenshinhan and this new son, Drum, is of course in the Namekian's favor, and King Piccolo orders Drum to finish Tenshinhan off, but a much stronger Goku arrives just in time and quickly dispatches Drum. King Piccolo and Goku face off again, and Goku manages to kick King Piccolo into Piano with his crushing weight and Goku's strength, killing his son. A fierce battle ensues, with Goku losing the use of both legs and his left arm because King Piccolo used the injured Tenshinhan as a hostage and threatened to crush his skull if Goku had even moved. Realizing that he still had his right arm usable, Goku eventually blasts a Kamehameha from his right hand propelling himself toward his enemy, punching a hole clean through King Piccolo's chest. The blow proved lethal, but King Piccolo managed to re-incarnate his soul by spitting out an egg into the distant mountains without Goku noticing. King Piccolo died only seconds later. This resulted in the birth of Piccolo Jr., and inadvertently saved the life of Kami (had King Piccolo not done this, Kami would have died with him, because they are one being, and it would be impossible to revive Shenron, thus Kuririn, Roshi, Chaozu, and all of those killed by King Piccolo and his sons would have remained dead). Over the next three years, Piccolo Jr. would go on to challenge Goku at the next tournament, more stronger than his father. Special abilities Bakurikimaha ("Exploding Powerful Demon Wave") :A very powerful blast shot from one hand while the other hand is used to support the arm that is firing the blast. King Piccolo can turn an entire city into dust using this move. This technique is called the Destructive Wave in English translations of the Dragon Ball and Dragon Ball Z video games (except for Super Dragon Ball Z, which uses Bakurikimaha, but misspells it as "Bukiri Maha".). Bukujutsu ("Flying Technique") :Literally meaning "lighter than air skill", the user forces their ki upon the ground in order to levitate and take to the skies. Bushitsu Shyutsu Gen Majyutsu :A magical ability used to create objects from seemingly thin air. King Piccolo was never actually seen using this technique, but it is assumed he knew it since he was seen with the same skeletal-like throne of his twice (the first was in Pilaf's hover ship and apparently, the same throne appeared in the king's castle). Also, King Piccolo and Kami, his counterpart of purity and good twin brother, were apparently capable of this technique as well, all the more evidence to believe that he would be capable of doing the same. His skeletal throne was alike to that of Guru's from Namek. Chonoryoku ("Psychokinesis") :This technique involves controlling and manipulating people or objects with the mind. King Piccolo performed this just by lifting a finger, as it was first seen when he magically lifted the five Dragon Balls that Roshi had hid under the ground. Kousengan ("Beam Eye") :A precise (red-colored) laser eye beam is shot from both eyes. This attack was first used by King Piccolo to kill a guard posted at the gates leading to King Furry's Castle. He later used it during his battle with Son Goku in order to incapacitate one of Goku's legs. He uses this ability in the video games Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi 2 (Budokai 5) and its sequel Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi 3 (Budokai 6), however it called Soumasen (his gargoyle Namekian son, Tambourine also uses this move in the video games and it too is called Soumasen). Kuchikarakikouha ("Energy Wave from the Mouth") :A beam shot from the mouth; considerably more powerful than normal ki bolts. King Piccolo used this attack to destroy Shenron after having his wish for eternal youth made. This move is usually spelled as Kochi kara kikou ha. Makosen ("Demon Light Beam") :King Piccolo fires power ki beams from each hand, one after the other. The first blast is intentionally meant to be a distraction; forcing the opponent to evade it, while the second blast actually hits the target dead on. Pokopen" :The ability to spit out an egg from his mouth. King Piccolo can give the son part or all of his powers and memories. It is related to Namekian asexual reproduction, where the Namekian spits out a new egg from the mouth (his is most likely a corrupt version of it, his son are likely Namekians). As shown when he gave birth to Cymbal, creating eggs in both ages it takes much of his energy. When King Piccolo had eternal youth, he no longer had to rechant this phrase, hence, he was able to quickly spit out an egg from his mouth which would immediately hatch into Drum. He also used this technique to give birth to Piccolo Jr. "Shock wave" :An invisible ki blast of a sudden wind attack that can be launched theoretically from any part of the body. It's generally not as powerful as other attacks. Terepashi ("Telepathy") :This is the ability to channel one's thoughts to another being. King Piccolo used this technique to immediately contact Tambourine to avenge Cymbal's death. Video Games King Piccolo has appeared as playable character in: * Dragon Ball: Advanced Adventure * Super Dragon Ball Z * The Japanese/PAL Wii versions of Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi 2 (Budokai 5) * All versions of Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi 3 (Budokai 6) He is also an alternate costume for Piccolo Jr. in * Dragon Ball Z: Budokai 3 (America's "Greatest Hits" Edition, European Collector's Edition, and Japanese version) * Dragon Ball Z: Legendary Super Warriors Voice Actors * Japanese Dub: Takeshi Aono * Ocean Dub: Scott McNeil * FUNimation Dub: Christopher R. Sabat Notes and references Category:Characters who can fly Category:Extraterrestrials Category:Namekians Category:Villains